Corrected: UPDATE 1-Amgen-AstraZeneca drug combo helps lung cancer patients live longer in late-stage study

AstraZeneca

08/09/2026 14:50

Corrects headline to say Amgen-AstraZeneca drug combo, not AstraZeneca's drug combo
Sept 8 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca AZN.L said on Tuesday its cancer drug, Imfinzi, combined with Amgen's AMGN.O targeted immunotherapy, Imdelltra, significantly improved overall survival of extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer patients in a late-stage trial.

Here are some details:
The trial tested the combination as a maintenance treatment against Imfinzi alone in patients whose disease had not progressed after standard induction therapy.
Apart from overall survival, the drug combination also improved progression-free survival and response rate. No new safety concerns were identified.
Cancer therapies make up nearly half of AstraZeneca's sales; Imfinzi contributed $6.06 billion to the drugmaker's oncology product revenue of $25.62 billion in 2025. 
Imfinzi, already approved for several cancers, is a human monoclonal antibody that blocks tumour mechanisms that help cancers evade and suppress the immune system, while enhancing the body’s anti‑cancer immune response.
Investor confidence in the drugmaker has been dented by a series of blows in recent months, including the surprise failure of nerve disease drug Wainua in a late-stage heart disease trial in July, and most recently, the discontinuation of its trial of lung cancer drug, volrustomig, in August.

 (Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and Sahal Muhammed)
 ((RaechelThankam.Job@thomsonreuters.com;))